News

It's been a year since Heaven For Real dropped Kill Your Memory on Mint Records but the band is far from done with it!

Today the band announced a string of tour dates in Canada and Japan via Exclaim! The Canadian dates include stops in Toronto, Montreal and the always lovely Sappy Fest. Later in August the band is going on tour in Japan where Kill Your Memory was released by Dead Funny Records last year.

To celebrate we're offering 10% off your copy of Kill Your Memory until the band returns from tour when you use the promo code 'comehome'.

Mint is very happy to be able to announce that we're going be releasing a new album from Edmonton's Faith Healer! Try ;-) (Yes, the emoticon is part of the title) is due out September 8, 2017. The follow-up to 2015’s Cosmic Troubles was largely recording during an intensive month-long session in September 2016 at Wilson’s personal studio in Montreal. During the process, Jalbert rented a room in Wilson’s house and the pair spent hours jamming and listening to bargain bin rock records in the basement.

“The last album had a lot of flowery ‘60s flourishes,” Jalbert explains. “This time, we wanted to simplify it and just do some straight-ahead songs. Focus on the song itself rather than all of the production.” The pop-rock arrangements are still overflowing with beautiful sonic details—from the Twin Peaks synths that enshroud “Sterling Silver” to the funky clavinet that’s nestled within the paisley-patterned pop of “& Waiting—but the instrumentation is stripped down enough that it can be faithfully recreated by a live band. Jalbert and Wilson were inspired by the garage-punk snarl of Wipers, the deadpan drama of Leonard Cohen’s Death of a Ladies’ Man, and the classic songwriting chops of Scott Walker and Elvis Costello.

The relatively stripped-down arrangements, combined with Jalbert’s graceful hooks and pitch-perfect delivery, make Try ;-) sound effortless. The truth, however, is that its creation was anything but simple: the songs were meticulously crafted with great effort, with plainspoken lyrics that thoughtfully reflect on self-empowerment, depression and appreciating the good in life.

Balancing melancholy lyrics with playful moods, lush melodies with straightforward arrangements, Try ;-) is the sound of an introspective loner leaving her bedroom to make a rock record with her best bud. It’s what happens when you stop taking life as it comes and instead throw all of your effort into making timeless pop songs. Forget what the bullies told you in middle school—there’s nothing cooler than trying hard.

Mint is very excited to announce that we've signed Vancouver emotional-but-not-emo band WOOLWORM! We will be releasing their sophomore LP, Deserve To Die, on August 25, 2017. Pre-order is now up!

Existential lyrics, loud-quiet-loud dynamics and emotive guitars might have some confusing Deserve to Die for another entry in the current emo revival. Don’t get it twisted, however — Woolworm are a hardcore band who have decided to play pop music.

Birthed from Vancouver’s hardcore scene, the band have perfected peppy pop songs that simultaneously bear the crushing weight of being alive. On the surface, the music falls somewhere between vintage indie-pop like the Chameleons and fuzzed-out stadium alt-rock like the Smashing Pumpkins, but every once in a while they drop nods to aggressive influences like Integrity and Cold World.

Thanks to their relentless touring and penchant for pop perfection, Woolworm have spent the last decade steadily growing a feverish fanbase. Their 2012 album Believe in Ourselves is an undeniable (if under heard) cult classic, and they’ve got a stack of singles and cassettes to prove that it wasn’t a one-off fluke. With Deserve to Die, however, they’ve reached for something beyond themselves.

The album was produced at Rain City Recorders with Jesse Gander (White Lung, Japandroids, Go It Alone). “It was our first time recording in a studio with a Wikipedia entry,” frontman Giles Roy says, noting that they made the most of Gander’s plethora of amps and guitars.

The loud, hi-fi production adds gravitas to the band’s songs, which are both engaging on their own and as a whole. Deserve to Die, as its title suggests, is a vital, addictive and downright depressing examination of dread and mortality.

“The songs are about loss, regret, alienation, and acceptance. And death,” Roy says. “Death is the only constant theme…. We all die, and you can't do much but laugh about it. Also, the whole thing was written over such a long period that our members’ lives happened to change drastically throughout the process. We've helped each other through those things at different times. So in some ways, it’s about everything at once.”

With its hummable melodies and heady themes, Deserve to Die is a perfect late-summer record. You’ll find yourself singing along in the sunshine, then you’ll contemplate the tragedy that is human existence as the leaves begin to turn.

Released just in time for their appearance at the Mint Records showcases at Ottawa Explosion and Sled Island, the EP is a manifesto, introducing fans to their new direction. Tough Age joined Mint Records in 2013 and has released two LPs on the label, their self titled debut in 2013 and I Get The Feeling Central in 2015. Since relocating to Toronto from Vancouver three years ago the band has channeled their love of underground Flying Nun styled indie pop and stripped down to a 3 piece to facilitate efficient touring and writing. The band is back in action this summer with tour dates and festival appearances at Sled Island, Ottawa Explosion and Sappy Fest.

The single kicks off with two snappy tracks featuring bassist Penny Clark on vocals. “Guess Not” is a blistering blink-and-you’ll-miss-it punker that sounds like an angry Shop Assistants song and is followed by “Not Bad” a swaggering piece of indie pop that mines the golden age of intelligent DIY indie pop. Guitarist Jarrett Samson rounds out the record with “Unclean,” an ode to the classic kiwi pop of The Clean and Double Happys. The track builds up from a deceptively simple guitar line held together by the solid drumming of Jesse Locke until it reaches an unhinged surf rock crescendo.

The EP was recorded and mixed by Peter Woodford in Montreal at The Bottle Garden (Tops, Moss Lime) and the artwork was handled by Toronto based comix artist Ginette Lapalme. Mint Records’ own Jay Arner took care of mastering.

In conjunction with Grant Lawrence's new book of tour memoirs, Dirty Windshields, Mint Records is releasing this companion soundtrack, which features the "best" of The Smugglers catalogue from 1988-2004. This digital-only collection is a wild trip through the classic rock 'n roll that put the Vancouver band on the map and sent them out on globe spanning tours with the likes of Mudhoney, The Donnas, The Gruesomes, The Mummies, and The Dwarves.

Every April the Canadian music industry descends upon Toronto to prove to each other that we survived another Winter. This year Mint is throwing such a good party that you'll forget that Winter even happened!

The record is a progression both musically and lyrically from their older material while still maintaining the hook-centric philosophy of their previous releases. The band has become legendary in Vancouver for wild shows and gruff but catchy punk rock melodies. They draw from classic punk roots like the wiry pop of The Buzzcocks and the gravely anthems of Stiff Little Fingers, but have a unique West Coast approach that would align them with the catchiest of the Lookout! or Dirtnap Records catalog. Though none of the band’s songs overstay their welcome, you’ll find yourself humming one of their hooks days after seeing them play.

Recorded with Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) in Vancouver at Rain City Recorders, the record shows an organic growth from the power pop of their previous two albums. Guitarist and singer Adam Solomonian’s voice is gruffer from playing hundreds of shows, and you can see a richer appreciation of the group’s influences such as Jawbreaker and The Replacements at play in the song writing. Tony Dubroy’s solid bass lines and Macey Budgell’s heavy drumming combine to form a powerful rhythm section that perfectly complement Solomonian’s simple-but-pointed guitar playing.

Needles//Pins have heavy North American touring planned for the summer including performances at Sled Island, Ottawa Explosion and Pop Montreal.

Mint Records is proud to present our annual and always early holiday party! This year we are extra excited to be celebrating our 25th year of making records and putting on shows and being merry.

This year, Mint’s jolly Vancouver contingent, Jay Arner, Supermoon and Fake Tears will be joined by our good friends Woolworm and Aaron Read. To round out this festive event, Chris-a-riffic will be playing all of your favourite Chris-mas carols, hymns and jingles between bands. We hope you will sing along!

As usual Santa will be giving away gift bags jammed with goodies from Neptoon Records, Red Cat Records, Pocky and Lush to the first 50 people through the door. Also included in your stocking is a copy of our brand new limited edition cassette compilation “Quarter Life Crisis” which features 25 tracks (get the theme here?) from our artists, friends as well as deep cuts from the Mint vaults.

What! Where did this come from?! A new record from The Evaporators? I guess it's out now! It's Ogopogo Punk and it's Nardwuar and the gang banging out a slew of new nuggets covering all the pertinent topics... sea monsters, eating, Chuckanut Drive and (eww) Dreadlocks! Sounds like a real cool time. But don't take my word for it, check out the video for their first single, "I Can't Be Shaved"

Monomyth's long awaited sophomore album, Happy Pop Family, is finally out and us Minties are the happiest pop family you can imagine! Every song on their new album is a delicious slice of Power Pop pie and we’re lining up for seconds. Order your LP or cassette today!